Sarawak PH chairman Chong Chieng Jen said this evening that accepting parties such as the ruling PBB (Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) would be akin to Umno joining Pakatan.
“We have fought so hard against the corrupt regime,” he said. It would be absurd to allow these Sarawak BN parties to join Sarawak PH, “thereby whitewashing all the corruption that has been committed by them”.
Pakatan Harapan is in the process of forming a federal government, after PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad took office as prime minister yesterday.
However, PH remains an opposition party in Sarawak and the state government is run by the Sarawak BN, led by PBB under Abang Johari Openg.
Mahathir was reported to have held talks in Kuala Lumpur today with Sarawak governor Abdul Taib Mahmud, at a meeting also attended by Mahathir’s ally, former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.
It was not known what was discussed. Chong said the report was based on “an unconfirmed source” as to whether such a meeting did occur or not.
The Malaysiakini report said Taib would call Abang Johari for discussions and an emergency meeting of BN state assembly members and MPs next Wednesday to discuss the future of Sarawak parties in Barisan Nasional.
Sarawak BN currently comprises PBB, PRS, SUPP and PDP. There was a possibility of the parties leaving Sarawak BN if the federal government changed hands.
But Chong, who is also Sarawak DAP chairman, said: “Our party has fought so hard along the lines of integrity and our supporters have supported us through difficult times because they believe in our integrity.
“On that count, we cannot and will not accept the Sarawak Barisan Nasional, especially PBB, into the fold of Sarawak Pakatan Harapan,” he said.
On whether individual members of BN parties would be welcome, he said they must be subject to vetting by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.